4 Steps You Can Follow Now To Build Your Legacy

It’s true: robots are taking our jobs. 

Well, at least to some degree. As if being a leader in business wasn’t challenging enough, we have to worry about artificial intelligence learning more than us at an accelerating rate. 

Luckily, there’s something humans — namely entrepreneurs — have over AI: We have the power to leave a legacy. You say you’re not an entrepreneur? I beg to differ, my friend. That’s exactly what The Land Geek founder and Dirt Rich author Mark Podolsky thought before he discovered his true potential. In my latest interview with Mark, we discuss four ways to uncover your entrepreneurial spirit, create value, and build a lasting legacy. 

Embrace Your Inner Scientist

Don’t worry: there’s no need to unearth cringe-worthy memories from tenth-grade chemistry class. Here, Mark and I were simply discussing the use of the scientific method in entrepreneurial endeavors. To refresh your memory, the scientific method consists of:

1. Asking a question
2. Doing your research
3. Constructing a hypothesis
4. Testing the hypothesis
5. Evaluating your procedure
6. Analyzing your findings
7. Communicating your results

In this instance, we were questioning how to make the most value for our desired audience. Mark shared his internal struggle while he was at his corporate job. He was frustrated with the lack of control he had over his day-to-day tasks and the solo-economic dependency that came along with it.

To leave a legacy, Mark explained, it’s essential to find a purpose and desire for creating something bigger than yourself. The scientific method can help in your journey to generate a purpose for your work, while also solving a problem for your audience.

Understand Passive Income

The term “passive income” implies more than one stream of income. Your day job is likely the main source of your overall income, but do you have money working for you as well? 

In Mark’s case, he stepped away from his corporate job and began investing in land. These strategic investments became his main source of revenue. By working smart (not hard), Mark has completed 5,200 land deals since 2001 with an average ROI of more than 300 percent on cash flips and over 1,000 percent on deals he sells with financing terms. Did I mention he had no prior real estate experience?

Now, Mark spends about two hours a week working on his first stream of income, Frontier Properties. He can do this because of the team of experts he’s hired to keep the momentum rolling. His second branch of income that has organically sprouted consists of weaning others off solo-economic dependency. You can see how multiple streams of revenue generate even more opportunities for passive income.

Once you own the mindset to search for passive income possibilities, you might be surprised at how many pop up. The next step is to decide if the opportunity coincides with the value you and your desired audience are looking for.

Meditate

You may be thinking to yourself, “I’m not the type to do that meditation foo-foo.” Have you ever tried? 

Mark advises practicing meditation just 10 minutes a day. No, you don’t have to sit cross-legged on a big, ornate pillow. Simply being mindful of your thoughts and the internal narration that is happening constantly in your head will help you gain a new perspective. Doing this has helped Mark immensely in being more observant throughout his day and responding to people more reasonably. He suggests trying the app, Waking Up.

 

In addition to working out his mind, Mark finds value in working out physically. This is something I could really relate to. Exercising and eating well are important for staying physically and mentally healthy. Plus, they are great steps to take for living a more intentional life (something you may find relevant if you want to produce value and build a legacy.)

If Someone Had Lunch With You, What’s the Key Thing You’d Want Them to Walk Away With?

Mark’s values-driven business strategy can be narrowed down to one action item: spread joy. When I asked him my famous last question, he didn’t skip a beat on telling me that joy is what he strives to interject into all of his day-to-day interactions.

Mark spreads joy by being mindful whenever he’s spending time with someone. Putting the phone down, not giving in to distractions, and actively listening are all ways to be more present and foster more value.

”Always try to leave people feeling some type of joy.” – Mark Podolsky

Another tactic for spreading joy and creating more valuable interactions is opening up and getting vulnerable. Sharing a problem you’re having may sound scary, but it’s likely that they’ve felt the same at one point or another. On top of that, they will feel more comfortable sharing a problem with you that you may be able to solve.

In the end, don’t worry about AI stealing the value that you offer to the world. You, as a unique individual, have something AI does not, and just like Mark, you have the power to leave a legacy.

This post is based on a Lead to Grow podcast with Mark Podolsky. To hear this episode, and many more like it, you can subscribe here.

If you don’t use iTunes, you can listen here.